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BY DON SCOTT

The Central Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 51st annual induction ceremony on Monday, November 14 at 7 p.m. at the Lebanon Expo Center.

The 2022 Class of Inductees includes Matt Bixler, Augustus Deraco, Ray Granger, Ryan Neiswender, Ashley Kohl Harrison and Susan Wolfe Felty.

“I was really surprised and flattered when I was nominated, because there are so many gifted athletes and coaches,” said Felty, “so it was quite an honor to think other people thought I deserved such an honor.

When asked about the changes in the high school sports programs over the years, Felty replied, “Now they have all the sections in Double and Triple-A and there wasn’t much of that when I started, so now there are so many schools that have teams and the athletes, so it really has evolved into something different.”

Felty admitted that there weren’t any youth leagues for girls when she was growing up, so she played biddy basketball with her brother in the boys’ league, because the only other sport available for girls was slow-pitch softball.

Felty won 12 letters in field hockey, basketball and track but admitted her favorite was the one she was participating in at that time, than added, “I loved field hockey and basketball, while in track you could do well as an individual and also be part of a team.”

When pushed for her favorite event, she said with a laugh, “Some people would say I’m crazy, but that would be the 400, which is not most people’s favorite, but that’s the one I definitely did the best in and enjoyed the most.”

Back in the day, Felty mentioned the 400 was probably the longest sprint, but the 800 is becoming more of a sprint and it really is where you do have to be mentally and physically tough and have a strategy to be successful.

Felty was the 1983 District champ in the 200 dash, Annville-Cleona was the 1984 District champion, but it was in 1985 that Annville-Cleona and Felty claimed a lot of hardware.

She finished second in the 400-meter dash and first in the 400-meter relay. Felaty was second in the 400-meter relay and was the champion in the in the 400-meter dash, with A-C claiming the district and state championships.
When questioned about retired Annville-Cleona track and field coach George Gerber, Felty laughed then answered, “He is very dear to my heart for many reasons because I learned a lot from him as an athlete, coach and teacher.”

Felty had been the A-C head field hockey coach for 11 years, winning Section championships in 2016 and 2017 and became the head coach for the boy’s and girl’s track and field coach in 2018.

“I love coaching because it is so neat to be able to try to encourage these athletes, because it is a very special role to have with them,” said Felty.

Reservations for the $25 buffet dinne can be made by contacting Glenn Beidler at 717-274-6784 or gbeidler@comcast.net.

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